


Time for Her

by SomeFanFictitious



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Protective Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 08:49:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12980472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeFanFictitious/pseuds/SomeFanFictitious
Summary: So, I picture this taking place right at the end of Season 1or the beginning of Season 2 when Belle and Rumple are reunited.  Thank you for reading, and comments and suggestions are always welcome and appreciated!  I have no beta reader, so this may be a hot mess.  Hopefully, it will at least be a delicious one.





	Time for Her

_Tick… tick… tick…_

Gold’s eyes opened slowly, then narrowed as he searched the room for the offending noise.  Though knew the placement and significance of every item under his roof, it took him more than a few seconds to find the antique clock and spear it with an irritated glare.  Until that moment, he’d barely given the thing more than a passing glance.  The clock, like so many of his other possessions, was almost more a burden than a treasure.  It was something to be had, saved, and then, when the time was right, traded away for something far better and more important.  And because of that, he’d paid it as much mind as he would any other errant antique… until today.

The ticking was soft, but echoed in the quiet room.  It drowned out both Belle’s heavy breathing as she slept in his lap and the beat of his darkened heart, drumming a contented staccato for the first time since he’d thrown her from the Dark Castle.  And even though he knew it wasn’t possible, he swore he heard the clock change its tune, pounding out a phrase he’d heard deep inside his brain since the day that the blue-eyed, impossibly perfect woman had come into his life.

_She’ll leave…. She’ll leave…. She’ll leave…_

He bared his teeth and forced himself to sit up straight on the couch, reluctantly leaving the subtle groove he’d made when he and Belle had collapsed there an hour ago.  Gently, he moved the pillow from his lap, careful to not to disturb her any more than necessary.  Her brows furrowed gently in her sleep as he slipped away, but a gentle caress across her hairline and a few whispered words sent her back into a dreamy oblivion.   

Satisfied, he walked over to the clock slowly, hands tightening on his cane.  It had been in his possession for a ridiculously long time, and he’d considered banishing it to a long-forgotten room in the Dark Castle more than once.  But he’d kept it anyway, for reasons be barely understood and never, _ever_ spoke aloud.  He’d never regretted it until this moment, when the ticking changed again and it began to chant a new taunt.

_Not yours…. Not yours… Not Yours…_

A lifetime ago, he’d considered time a trusted ally.  He’d measured the passing hours as he’d worked, living his life and his son’s life according to the cycles of the sun, moon, and stars.  He’d even taken to carving notches on his walking stick, measuring how Bae grew with each Spring.  But once he’d become The Dark One and as the years had passed, blended together, and finally lost all meaning.  Time was as much a fairy tale to him as his own story was to the people of this world.  He controlled time now as he controlled everything else… and always would.

So why did this thing seem fit to taunt him?

_Lose her… Lose her… Lose her…_

All it took was a swift, flick of his fingers.  The innards of the clock ground to a halt, spun, and broke with a satisfying snap.  The hands stilled, frozen behind a thin glass plate that reflected his furious stare.  

He waited, _daring_ it to make another noise.  Nothing would take Belle from him again, not even time.

“Rumple?”

He glanced over his shoulder.  Belle had woken, turning aroudn as she blindly reached for him with her needy hands.  The clock forgotten, he made his way back over to her and perched on the edge of the couch, caressing her face.  “I’m here.”

She smiled and gave a contented sigh as she turned into his hand and pressed a soft kiss to his palm. “It must be late… what time is it?”

“Don’t worry about that, Belle” he said, bending down and placing a gentle kiss to her temple “it doesn’t matter.”


End file.
